Periodic repression of Notch pathway genes governs the segmentation of Xenopus embryos.

ABSTRACT: During the development of the vertebrate embryo, genes encoding components of the Notch signaling pathway are required for subdividing the paraxial mesoderm into repeating segmental structures, called somites. These genes are thought to act in the presomitic mesoderm when cells form prospective somites, called somitomeres, but their exact function remains unknown. To address this issue, we have identified two novel genes, called ESR-4 and ESR-5, which are transcriptionally activated in the somitomeres of Xenopus embryos by the Su(H)-dependent Notch signaling pathway. We show that the expression of these genes divides each somitomere into an anterior and posterior half, and that this pattern of expression is generated by a mechanism that actively represses the expression of the Notch pathwa

SUBMITTER: Jen WC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC316761 | biostudies-literature | 1999 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature